I disagree that software should be thought of as a person, even if it's a polite person. Software is and should be thought of as a tool. For routine operations by an experienced user, a tool feels like it's part of your own body. It's like riding a bicycle. Most people who ride are not aware of countersteering, but they countersteer regardless, because the bicycle has become effectively a prosthetic body part. This is the ideal way to operate software.
But unfortunately, this feeling is fragile. The requirements are stricter than mere politeness. E.g. latency is very important. Any kind of delay (including animations) breaks the feeling of software being part of your own body. There is already a built in delay/animation: the movement of your own fingers. This is the only natural delay. Any additional delay on top of it breaks the connection between tool and human body, and and removes the feeling of merging of the two.
And any kind of automatic behavior breaks the feeling. I'm opposed to autosaving, because it's a reminder that the software is not literally a part of my body. It's better to cultivate a habit of manual saving. Predictability is as important as responsiveness. Tools are not "smart".
I've never felt this kind of man/machine unity from a mobile UI. Maybe it's possible in theory, but touch screen UIs focus on dragging, which makes latency even more obvious, by translating time delays into spatial displacements. And it's only possible with experience, which designers constantly fight against by making UI changes. It's likely that the majority of computer users have never felt it at all, and that is a real pity.
But unfortunately, this feeling is fragile. The requirements are stricter than mere politeness. E.g. latency is very important. Any kind of delay (including animations) breaks the feeling of software being part of your own body. There is already a built in delay/animation: the movement of your own fingers. This is the only natural delay. Any additional delay on top of it breaks the connection between tool and human body, and and removes the feeling of merging of the two.
And any kind of automatic behavior breaks the feeling. I'm opposed to autosaving, because it's a reminder that the software is not literally a part of my body. It's better to cultivate a habit of manual saving. Predictability is as important as responsiveness. Tools are not "smart".
I've never felt this kind of man/machine unity from a mobile UI. Maybe it's possible in theory, but touch screen UIs focus on dragging, which makes latency even more obvious, by translating time delays into spatial displacements. And it's only possible with experience, which designers constantly fight against by making UI changes. It's likely that the majority of computer users have never felt it at all, and that is a real pity.